Camp Betty: Camping Week

Make a break for the great outdoors and celebrate with camp crafts and s’mores!

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Wherever your camping trip takes you—from the backyard to national parks—part of the fun is keeping things simple so you can enjoy the great outdoors. Betty’s camp-themed activities and handy snacks are easy and delicious, making your time in nature all the sweeter.

When you set out for a hike, don’t settle for a smushed energy bar. Jazz up your favorite fruit and nut bars with raw nuts, banana chips, cinnamon and chocolate chips—or whatever mix-ins you like. It’s a quick snack you can pop by the handful as you take in the views. Betty blogger Brooke McLay of Cheeky Kitchen found a super-easy way to turn
Larabars into a fun and healthy DIY trail mix, with just a few added ingredients. Take a look!

A hike just isn’t a hike without the perfect walking stick. Get in touch with nature, examine the trees and the ground, and find your trail walking stick as you go. At your campsite, or back at home, it’s easy to bling out your hiking stick with some of these great ideas from Crafting Connections. Personalize the perfect stick with embroidery floss, yarn, Washi tape or acrylic paint. Tie on beads, buttons, feathers or pieces of nature you find on the forest floor, such pinecones, acorns or leaves. A decorated walking stick makes a special memento of summer fun that you can hang in your room for a long time to come.

Before you embark on a great campout, pull on your rubber boots and get the hang of fishing at home with three crafts you can tailor to your time, kids and craft-ability. Indoor fishing is a fun form of imaginative play, and a practical way to engage with letters, colors, numbers and magnets. Try this basic idea using paper fish and paperclips from No Time for Flash Cards, or colorful and tactile felt (shown above) from Real Purdy. For the super-crafty, these hand-sewn fish by Create Studio make a year-round activity for little fishers.

Betty blogger Paula Kittelson took a rainy day to try out indoor s’mores with a Cuisinart S’more Maker and went wild with creations you’d never find at your local campground. Layers of Nature Valley granola thins were stacked with brownie, caramel-filled chocolate squares, thin-sliced marshmallow and more!

Once you’ve got your s’mores, settle into an indoor fort made cozy with blankets, sheets, pillows, a battery-powered lantern and lots of good books.